From: Junio C Hamano <junkio@cox.net>
Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 18:43:44 GMT
Subject: Re: [PATCH] Remove branch by putting a null sha1 into the ref file.
Message-ID: <7vodtdow0v.fsf@assigned-by-dhcp.cox.net>
In-Reply-To: <Pine.LNX.4.64.0609180926590.4388@g5.osdl.org>

Linus Torvalds <torvalds@osdl.org> writes:

> On Mon, 18 Sep 2006, Christian Couder wrote:
>>
>> With the new packed ref file format from Linus, this should be
>> the new way to remove a branch.
>
> Well, it's not really sufficient.
>
> Somebody should add this test-case
>
> 	git branch test
> 	git branch -d test
> 	git branch test/first
>
> which should work.

Also this test-case needs to be added

	git branch test
        git pack-refs
        rm .git/refs/heads/test
        git branch test/second

which should barf.  Otherwise it would allow both test and
test/second branches to exist, and trying to clone from such a
repository would fail, at least by the existing tools (it might
have been even nicer if we from day one allowed both test and
test/second to exist, though, but it is too late now, or too
early before we upgrade everybody).

> It's entirely possible that the proper way to do branch deletion with 
> packed branches is to simply re-pack without the old branch, rather than 
> the negative branch model. I couldn't really decide.

Or mkdir there ,-).